CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff FEBRUARY 5, 2016

As the Canucks move into the last 31 games of the season, a couple of things become fact after much speculation as the season has progressed.

Vancouver has seen a drop in even strength goals, power play goals, power play opportunities; and the increased inability to compensate defensively for the lack of scoring, like the Anaheim Ducks have been able to do this season.

The Canucks goals against has been consistent though, up to this point of this season.

There is an old saying that the best defense is a good offense:

The adage is used to note that success can hinge on an effective offense that keeps the puck on the other team’s side of the field, thus not only creating scoring opportunities but preventing the opposing team from scoring.

You don’t need to look at Canuck advanced statistics to get the idea that Vancouver has been sub-par offensively but it really does make it crystal clear in so many ways, besides being remarkably depressing. So I will use regular stats that most of us are familiar with.

Canucks need to draw more penalties like they were the first two months of the season and improve their capitalization of their man advantage opportunities when they do so. It’s clear that power play goals contribute immensely to to the percentage of all goals scored, and Vancouver are not scoring enough as it is at even strength to compensate for any loss of goals on the power play.

7 less man even strength goals scored and 18 less goals scored overall.

Conclusion:

While Vancouver was getting scored on at the same rate, the Canucks total goal production dropped off by 26.5 percent and their EVS goals dropped by 14.6 percent.

Coupled with 10 less man advantage goals scored and 27 less man advantage opportunities, as illustrated above, the Canucks scoring is being severely impacted by the lack of burying the puck in the net, especially on the power play.

CANUCKS GOALS AGAINST OVER FIRST 50 GAMES

Games #1 to #25:

Vancouver had 68 goals against. Team Record: 9-9-7.

Team GAA of 2.72. Team Sv% of .923.

Total shots against: 737

Games #26 to #50:

Vancouver had 69 goals against. Team Record: 11-10-4.

Team GAA of 2.76. Team Sv% of .824

Total shots against: 837

Comparison/Contrast Between First 25 Games and Second 25 Games:

+1 goal against and a -.099 drop in Sv%.

+100 shots against.

Conclusion:

Along with the appearance of, or fact of, being unable to reduce goals against and shots against, sufficiently to compensate for the lack of goal production, this has left the Canucks with a predicament.

Vancouver are running out of games to execute a timely turnaround that will result in a playoff appearance at the end of this season.

Canucks need to improve even strength goal production; get back to drawing penalties and capitalizing on them as they did early in the season; reduce their goals against; reduce their shots against; tighten up defensively as a team until the goals start to come.

On a positive note, Vancouver’s penalty killing has improved. After the initial 25 games played, they were 61 for 79 for 77.2 percent.

The next 25 games they were 67 for 80 for 83.8 percent.

Now it’s just a matter of working on the rest of the things, and the Canucks Stanley Cup Parade will be in Vancouver quicker than we might think.